Forum chair

Welcome

Welcome, and congratulations on deciding to serve as a Forum chair! Here you will find best practices for you as Forum chair, as well as valuable information on how to plan out your year.

Your mission

As a Forum chair, your mission is to build vitality and health within your chapter's Forums.

To accomplish this, you will work to ensure that every member wishing to participate has access to the experience of Forum through training, placement and moderator management. You will have member success conversations focused on the Forum journey to bring member value. 

 

Why is this important?

82 percent of members cited the quality of their Forum experience as the primary reason for continuing their EO membership. You are the Forum advocate on your chapter board for every chapter member! 

FAQ

1. What are the Forum chair’s key responsibilities?

2. As Forum chair, what are my key benefits (i.e., what’s in it for me?)

As Forum chair, you will:

3. What is a Forum?

Not all members fully understand what is required to constitute a Forum. In your Forum chair role, it is important to check in with Forums to make sure they are meeting the following Forum requirements.

All Forums must:

4. How much time should I expect to commit to this role?

The time commitment for this position varies based on the size of your chapter and the number of Forums in your chapter. The average is approximately 10 hours per month.

In a typical month, you will spend:

5. Do I need a Forum co-chair?

Chapters with aggressive recruitment goals or a large number of Forums have found success having Forum co-chairs share the responsibilities of the role. One person owns the training process, while the other owns placement and member engagement. Both work with the moderators and attend local board meetings.

What are some important links or groups for Forum chairs?

  1. Forum chair WhatsApp group
  2. ConnectEO: here you will find tools, best practices, and resources. You can also communicate with other chairs to share experiences and knowledge.
  3. Samepage

Support

You are not alone on this journey. Reach out to your support network:

1. EO Staff Liaisons:

forum@eonetwork.org

2. Regional Forum Experts

A regional expert represents each region supporting you in your role.

The information will be available soon.

Working with your Forum expert

The Forum expert is the key, senior-level strategic resource who assists chapter Forum chairs and fosters Forum health. They are essential in communicating vital information between members and the EO Board of Directors. Your Forum expert will use the cornerstones of Forum (sharing experiences, personal responsibility, Forum mindset leadership) while working with chapter Forum chairs. By sharing experiences instead of giving advice, the Forum expert will help the Forum chairs work through chapter challenges in much the same way that Forum mates help each other work through issues presented in a Forum meeting.

Your Board

Working with your chapter board

Supporting your fellow board members

President
Membership chair
Member engagement chair
Finance chair
Marketing and communications chair
Learning chair
Strategic alliances chair
Mentorship chair
Accelerator chair
Chapter staff

Planning

STEP 1: GUIDE

THE FORUM JOURNEY

In this step, you will learn about Forum specifics, the different types of Forums, as well as the Forum Journey--the "map" of the curriculum path for which Forum products to experience when and why--to make the most positive impact on your members and chapter.

As Forum chair, it is important that you understand and can explain the Forum types and the Forum Journey to members. A key responsibility during this year will be holding member success conversations and helping members find value in their membership through the various products and offerings. This includes sharing your own EO story, helping members know which benefits they can take advantage of immediately, as well as products and opportunities that will bring them value in the future. You will likely receive questions about Forum options beyond the chapter Forum experience or you may get requests to provide Forum to the member's Spouse/Life Partner (SLP) or Key Executive in their business. 

Chapter Forum

Bridge Chapter Forum

Experience Forum

Spouse/Life Partner Forum

Key Executive Forum

Next-Gen Forum

The Forum Framework has evolved so every member can access an ideal Forum experience that provides unique value tailored to address their specific needs. You can learn more about how these different types of Forum offerings fit into a member's Forum journey in the photo below.

 

Forum products 

Different Forum products are appropriate for different points in a member's Forum Journey, as shown in the interaction above. As Forum chair, it is your responsibility to communicate these options to your members and guide them on their journey, so you must have a complete understanding of what is available.

Forum Training Pogram (FTP)

Forum Next Level

Moderator Training Program (MTP)

Forum Health Workshops

Moderator Summits

Moderator Workshop Series

EO moderators and moderator-elects can now enjoy year-long support with continuous learning, coaching and tools. Two dedicated Forum trainers will guide the series, anchored by interactive sessions featuring theory, practical applications, breakout groups, and Q&As.

All members, SLP, key executive moderators, and moderator elects are welcome.

 

Resources and links:

STEP 2: BUILD

Build Forum health

As the most highly rated EO member benefit, Forums are a source of support, camaraderie and inspiration, if they are healthy and functioning as intended. If they are not, your Forums could be in danger.

Forum Health Survey

Entrepreneurs don't always agree, but a staggering 90 percent of Forums reported a better experience after taking a Forum Health Survey.

The online tool offers several advantages over older paper surveys, including easier data gathering, assured confidentiality, the ability to compare results against external metrics and resources built into the results page that can suggest ways to increase the Forum's value.

Online Forum Health Survey: https://hub.eonetwork.org/Web/Forum/Forum-Health-Survey-.aspx

Encourage Forum engagement

One of the ways to help improve Forum health and engagement is through an incentivizing competition such as the pursuit of a Forum Cup. By assigning "points" for participation in different Forum activities which are scored, members are incentivized, and Forum health is strengthened by this increased involvement. 

Example:
For the FY2021-2022 year, EO Toronto chapter established their own Forum Olympics competition, establishing prizes for the top three Forums in each house, (1st, 2nd, and 3rd prizes,) for a total of 12 prizes given: 

Sample points-scoring opportunities include a member's spouse/life partner joining a Forum (20 points per member,) 20 points per member for attendance at chapter events, and 20 points per breakfast/lunch/dinner when their moderator attends the quarterly moderator breakfast/lunch/dinner. The Forum Olympics coach is responsible for tracking attendance and reporting it in the chapter's engage site.

What recognition or rewards will motivate Forums within your chapter?

EO Toronto Forum Olympics Flyer can be downloaded here.

STEP 3: LEAD

Quarterly moderator meetings

As Forum chair, you own the full planning and execution of moderator meetings. These meetings not only provide value to the moderators but are your chance to look for red flags and intervene with additional resources before Forum health is in jeopardy.

As Forum chair you will attend monthly calls with your region’s Forum Expert and other Forum chairs from your region. Each month will have a different Forum topic for discussion, which can be used in your moderator meetings.

Best practices:

Before the meeting

Sample three-hour meeting agenda:

30 min Meet and greet/cocktails

05 min Welcome from the Forum chairs 

10 min Welcome – introductions

30 min Chapter news and updates

45 min Theme #1 for experience share

45 min Theme #2 for experience share

10 min Forum Cup updates and standings 

05 min Wrap-up and One Word Close

In-between meetings

Show moderators that you care and are interested in their success and that they can leverage your support.

Moderator recognition

It's important to recognize and reward moderators for the work they're doing. In addition to the suggestions given in the case study example attached, there are other ways to reward and incentivize moderators. 

EO Philadelphia's current incentive program, for example, offers a $200/quarter perk for moderator attendance on 2x monthly Forum moderator video Zoom calls and 1x moderator meetings.

Seed moderator goals

When starting a new Forum, it's imperative to have the guidance and assistance of an experienced EO member with moderator training to serve as seed moderator, helping that new Forum follow best practices and thrive. In this role, they should:

Where can members apply to become a Seed Moderator?

https://bit.ly/2ZJyrUd

STEP 4: PLAN

Your chapter must have a portion of its budget allocated to Forum programs. Nearly all chapters will dedicate funds toward Forum programs, such as moderator training, quarterly moderator meetings/luncheons and Forum-placement events, Forum workshops or to subsidize Forum retreat costs. For maximum success, a chapter should invest in each Forum individually. For some chapters, this means paying for a Forum workshop for each Forum (virtual US$750). For others, it means a retreat subsidy for every Forum (US$1,000 to US$1,500). Other chapters elect to let the Forums choose how they will redeem their chapter’s contribution.

Remember: Your chapter does not incur costs for new members' Forum training. Each new member pre-pays for their Forum training when they join EO!

The budget will vary based on the size of your chapter. Suggested budgets are in the chart below.

Suggested budget based on chapter size:


Many chapters budget for their Forums to participate in one of EO's Forum workshops each year. Please speak to your chapter president about an additional budget to support Forum health through these great programs!

 

​Small chapters
(25-49 members)

​Medium chapters
(50-84 members)

​Large chapters
(85-119 members)

​Mega chapters
(120+ members)

​Forum moderator training

​US$0

​US$0

​US$0 

​US$0

Moderator Summit travel subsidies

US$3,000

US$6,000

US$6,000

US$9,000

​Forum health subsidy (one subsidy per Forum for retreat facilitator or Forum workshop) (Approx. US$500 per Forum)

​US$3,500

​US$5,000

​US$7,000

​US$9,000

​Other: Quarterly moderator meetings, placement events, etc.

​US$2,000

​US$3,000 

US$4,000​

​ US$5,000 

​TOTALS

​US$8,500

​US$14,000

​ US$17,000

US$23,000​


Other ways for your chapter to support Forums are:

How to use the Budget Calculator Video by Laird Daubenspeck, EO Cleveland

Forum Budget Calculator can be downloaded here

The placement process

Placing a member in Forum begins with your understanding of the different variables that must be considered. This means understanding your chapter Forums: what they want vs what they need; their make-up and their health (based on Forum Health Survey) as well as understanding the new member you are placing: their business, their personality, and their expectations for what they will get out of Forum.

Post video: Forum placement - The thing we have to do first...

Step 1: Forum chair talks to the Forum moderators

Step 2: Trifecta meeting

Step 3: Test drive (best practice)

The membership chair, member engagement chair, and Forum chairs bring their prospective members to an event, a test drive:

Step 4: Placement of new members into Forums

Once all the information has been gathered:

Checklist:

Stick to your procedure, expect to be challenged:

Beware of conflicts when placing new members

Does your chapter allow each Forum to establish its own placement practices?

This is not considered a best practice and can be cumbersome for you to manage while potentially extending the timeline for a new member's placement. This also can potentially create a negative experience if a new member is rejected from a group.

The most effective method of Forum placement is communication between the Forum chair and the Forum moderators. Thanks to your quarterly moderator meetings, you will know which groups are seeking new members.

Forums that have discussed the qualities they are looking for in a new member and empowered the moderator to act on their behalf can quickly get the members they need.

Collaborative placement process

The Forum chair is the sole decision-maker on Forum placement.
This requires the Forum chair to have a good understanding of the wants/needs of the Forums as well as a good understanding of the new member being placed.

Pros: 

Launching a new Forum

Know when/how to launch new Forums, as necessary, to accommodate members. If no Forums are seeking members, but you are recruiting a group of new members at one time, consider building a new Forum with this group.

Resources:

Bright idea: Contact your Forum expert or talk to the Forum team at EO if you're finding challenges. Two heads are always better than one!

Remember to work closely with your member engagement chair concerning placement. New members will be made aware of the benefits of Forum during the recruitment process, and that will only be reinforced as they engage with current members while considering joining EO. One way to align the efforts of recruitment with Forum is to ensure that your member integration chair is aware of the placement process and that it is communicated to new members.

Tools and resources:

Trifecta

Trifecta is a partnership between membership, Forum and member engagment working together as a single unit to join efforts and goals, providing the best possible member value for chapters, while also creating and sharing best practices as the Trifecta.

To establish the Trifecta in your chapter, you will need to agree on a process for everyone in the Trifecta to understand each other´s goals and expectations and plan accordingly to achieve them. 

JOJA as a best practice

The standard best practice for member intake is the JOJA "class intake system," which is a way of bringing groups of new members into EO on specific months of a year (July, October, January, and April, hence JOJA). (See diagram here)

Having a group of new members coming into the organization at the same moment ensures a better experience because of peers going on a similar journey. However, there may be a different timeline that works for your respective chapter. Every chapter and region can adapt the timeline to work with what is the best course of action keeping in mind the 90-day placement policy.

We've created a helpful guide to planning your year and getting Forum placement right.

Trifecta Summit outcome and resources

The Trifecta Summit is an opportunity for members of the Trifecta –membership chair, Forum and member engagement chair – to come together to share experiences and best practices/what is working in terms of Forum placement, planning and how to best work together.

Primary outcomes from the summit:

Tools and resources:

Forum Chair Action Plan

Planning is key to your success as Forum chair. Utilizing a 90-day approach, you can gather the information you need to create and share your plan, and schedule meetings and trainings.

The 90-day plan to set yourself up for success as Forum chair consists of:

Preparing (May) in the first 30 days (gathering information on Forum health, meeting with outgoing chair and the Trifecta);

Review your chapter’s Forum report: By accessing the Forum report, you can review the placement and training status for every member in your chapter.

Access your chapter’s Forum report here

You must then ensure new members are Forum-placed within the first 90 days and documented online.

As you review your chapter's Forum report, answer the following:

Do I have members who: 

And how about moderators?

Forum policies and procedures

After reviewing your chapter's current Forum policies and procedures, and meeting with the outgoing Forum chair, you should discuss the following with your chapter's board and/or president: 

Planning (June) in the next 30 days (establishing moderator and placement plans, planning a training schedule and budget).

Make your plan:

Organizing (July) in the subsequent 30 days (scheduling moderator meetings, scheduling training, setting up document sharing, and sharing your plans with other FCs).

(Check each item as you read them)

Be ready for anything. There is no way to plan for crises and they will occur. Managing a Forum crisis can be one of the most challenging and rewarding situations a Forum chair will face.

START HERE

Here’s a checklist to guide you through the different actions you need to complete your role.

Q1: July, August, September

 

Q2: October, November, December

 

Q3: January, February, March

Q4: April, May, June

Resources

The following materials and resources are available to help make your time as Forum chair as productive as possible.

The Forum page on the EO Hub has numerous tools and templates for your reference.

Virtual Forum Training Library

For Forum members

For Forum moderators

For retreat planners

Scheduling tool

Forum workshops

Connect with each other

Common forum problems

Doing business between members within one forum

It is generally not recommended for Forum members to engage in business with each other. This is to prevent potential conflicts of interest and maintain the integrity and confidentiality of the Forum environment. Ensuring a safe and confidential space is a key requirement for all Forums.

Reason for the Rule

Forums within the Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO) are designed as safe spaces for members to share personal and professional challenges, experiences, and insights. The intention is to foster trust, vulnerability, and a non-competitive environment. When members enter into business relationships, it can create conflicts of interest and lead to biased advice or decisions during Forum discussions, thereby undermining the forum's purpose.

Potential Conflicts

  1. Bias in Discussions: If two members are doing business together, their advice and feedback might not be entirely objective. This could skew the Forum's discussions and affect the quality of insights shared.
  2. Confidentiality Risks: Business dealings can lead to situations where one member might inadvertently share confidential information, breaching the trust and confidentiality norms of the Forum.
  3. Conflict of Interest: Business relationships can result in conflicts of interest where decisions or feedback are influenced by business considerations rather than being in the best interest of the individual or the Forum.

Maintaining Forum Integrity

To maintain the forum's integrity, it is essential to adhere to its guidelines strictly. This includes avoiding business engagements with fellow members. The Forum Chair plays a crucial role in enforcing this by:

Exceptions and Handling

In certain scenarios where business transactions are unavoidable, it is crucial that:

By adhering to these guidelines, the Forum can continue to be a safe and trustworthy environment for all its members